News Updates

The Ohio Department of Education has accepted a revised and reduced
version of the Cleveland public-school budget, thus avoiding a court
battle with the district over finances. (See Education Week, Oct. 23,
1991.)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ted Sanders and the
Cleveland school board late last month agreed on a district budget for
fiscal year 1992 that includes $11.6 million in spending cuts.

The superintendent, who must review the district's budget under the
terms of a federal desegregation order, had threatened to go to court
to force the district to adopt a "fiscally responsible" budget.

A spokesman for the state education department said that Cleveland
still faces some financial problems in the 1993 fiscal year, but that
district officials adopted a sound budget for this year after meeting
privately with state officials.

A circuit-court judge in Fairfax County, Va., has ruled that the
Fairfax school board had the authority to freeze teachers' salaries to
balance its budget.

The Fairfax Education Association sued the board last spring, after
board members decided not to give teachers the 3.8 percent longevity
increases specified in their contract. The union unsuccessfully argued
that by doing so the board was violating its own policy, state law, and
the teachers' constitutional due-process rights. (See Education Week,
June 5, 1991.)

Union leaders said they do not plan to appeal the decision.

Delmis Donta, the eastern Kentucky superintendent who faced dismissal
by the state following a misdemeanor misconduct charge, shocked state
officials last week by asking for a continuance of his removal hearing
and then resigning his post after a postponement was granted. (See
Education Week, Oct. 2, 1991 .)

About 90 witnesses were on hand in the state capital of Frankfort to
testify at Mr. Donta's hearing, and officials said reporters from
across the state had almost filled a local hotel in anticipation of a
marathon proceeding.

Instead, after asking for a delay--the first on the state's
charges-Mr. Donta offered a 30-minute speech recalling his career and
announced his resignation.

Last week, the Boyd County school board was awaiting the return of a
board member to officially accept Mr. Donta's resignation. The state
had already suspended the superintendent and appointed an interim head
of the 4,100-student district.

Also last week, Mr. Donta was found guilty on the misconduct charge
after he failed to appear for his fifth court date. A family spokesman
said Mr. Donta was being treated as an outpatient at an Ohio hospital
at the time of the trial.

He will be sentenced later on the misdemeanor, which carries a
maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $250 fine.

By selling a plot of land for $3 million, the financially troubled
Mobile County, Ala., school system has postponed the shutdown of its
schools that officials had predicted would occur last week.

The state's largest district has been negotiating for two years to
sell the 306-acre vacant lot located in an industrial area, said Gene
Tysowsky, a district spokesman. The land was never meant to be a school
site, officials said.

But proceeds from the sale, expected to close this month, will only
carry the district through Dec. 1, and officials are still searching
for a longer-term solution. State legislators, for example, are
considering several tax proposals.

The school district was hit particularly hard by Gov. Guy Hunt's
declaration of an across-the-board, $145-million cut in the state's
education budget that went into effect Oct. 1. (See Education Week,
Oct. 16, 1991 .)

Four other districts--Chambers County, Marion County, Walker County,
and Wilcox County-have also announced that budget woes may force them
to shut their doors sometime before the end of the school year, said
Harry Toothaker, a state department of education spokesman. .

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.